Chinese spies in the U.S. are busy stealing whatever information, military or otherwise, they can get their hands on, and are under orders to gather information "no matter how trivial," a top defector says.
Speaking by phone to the Washington Times intelligence savvy reporter Bill Gertz, Chen Yonglin, until recently a senior political officer at the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, Australia, said, "The United States occupies a unique place in China's diplomacy."
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According to Chen, now hiding in Australia after defecting from Beijing, "The United States is considered by the Chinese Communist Party as the largest enemy, the major strategic rival.”
He said that all Chinese government officials are ordered to gather information about the United States.
In fact, Chen said that most Chinese government activity in the United States involves information-gathering carried out by military-related intelligence officers or civilians linked to the Ministry of State Security.
And he also revealed that Chinese owned companies work hand in hand with their military complex – perhaps more disturbing in light of China’s bid for American oil giant Unocal.
"I know that China once got a heavy load of confidential documents from the United States and sent it back to China through the Cosco ship," Chen said, referring to the state-owned China Ocean Shipping Co. The information was "very useful" to China's military and related to "aircraft technology," he added.
Cosco long has been at the center of U.S. national security worries. Its efforts to buy port facilities in Long Beach, Calif. were rebuffed after concerns were raised. Still, the company operates at of many American ports, including in New York, Boston, Baltimore and Miami.
In the 90s a Cosco ship was caught by U.S. Customs attempting to smuggle 20,000 automatic machine guns – enough weaponry to outfit more than a division of troops. Authorities claimed the Chinese planned to sell the guns to street gangs, but others found that explanation lacking.
Among Chen's other revelations:
Beijing dispatches political police abroad to keep a close eye on overseas Chinese and anyone else in North America who they consider opponents of the regime.
There are political tensions between President Hu Jintao and his predecessor former President Jiang Zemin. Hu, Chen said, is not fully in control of the government and military, and Jiang continues to wield power behind the scenes through allies in the armed forces. "Hu is still in the shadow of Jiang and will be until Jiang dies," Mr. Chen said.
Hu launched his own version of Chinese ideology at the end of last year that calls for education in advancing the Communist Party. He said the Chinese leader is the beneficiary of the dictatorship and, therefore, is unlikely to make changes loosening party control. "For the past 16 years, a lot of people have been looking to see if the Communist Party can change from the top down to the low levels, but nothing changes," Chen told Gertz.
Beijing is trying to influence Australia's government through high-level political visits and favorable trade and by offering contracts on energy-related products. Their goal, he explained, is to force Australia to become part of a China-dominated "grand neighboring region" in Asia and to "force a wedge between the U.S. and Australia."
Beijing is following the strategy of former leader Deng Xiaoping, who urged China to "bide our time, build our capabilities" - military as well as economic and political. "What that means is that when the day is mature, the Chinese government will strike back." He added that the danger of a war over Taiwan is growing. "That is possible as Chinese society is getting more unstable," he said. "Once any serious civil disobedience occurs, the government may call for a war across the Taiwan Strait to gather [political] strength from people."
Despite his insider information, Chen has been treated as a pariah by Australian authorities. Upon learning of his defection, Australian authorities refused to meet with him and instead contacted the Chinese authorities to inform them. Press reports indicated that the Australian government feared embracing Chen lest it draw the ire of communist China and harm trade relations.
Chen also requested asylum from the U.S. embassy. He was similarly rebuffed.
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